Strategy Formation in Virtual Education: The Case for Dynamic Incrementalism.

Edelson, Paul Jay

Despite the setbacks of many virtual education programs at the collegiate level, the public's widespread, growing acceptance of electronic learning (e-learning) argues for continued expansion of virtual education. When designing virtual programs, colleges and universities typically follow an administrative model that is hierarchical, bureaucratic, labor intensive, and thus ill-suited to the fast-paced, ever-changing world of virtual education. Most successful players in the world of e-learning have displayed the following features of entrepreneurial organizations: real-time opportunistic responses; reliance on self-generated revenue; localized decision making, the relative absence of hierarchy, small size, and a strong and a culture supportive of risk-taking behavior. Higher educational institutions wanting to be successful in the world of virtual education must adopt the following strategies: (1) apply previously developed expertise in addressing the needs of part-time students; (2) begin with small experiments and rigorously examine the outcomes; (3) study the larger environment of success and failure; (4) follow the ball and try to anticipate where it will bounce; (5) encourage the best people to become involved in developing e-learning programs; (6) promote a supportive environment for experimentation, including following up with additional resources for further growth; and (7) accept that successful strategies must continue to evolve to ensure generating "value" for the organization and the consumer. (MN)